Sunday, July 17, 2011

“O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night? Why are you like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? You are among us, O Lord, and we bear your name; do not forsake us!” (Jeremiah 14:8-9)

There are several metaphors in these verses, but the first one isn’t quite so obvious in translation. The imagery of the word used for hope is that of water in a parched land.

That is the Hope of Israel that Jeremiah was calling out to. Like a cool glass of water on a hot day is the Lord God.

The Israelites were in the middle of a drought. They couldn’t see beyond the immediacy of their problem, and Jeremiah was trying to call them away from their sin and back to their relationship with God.

The Lord was done with Israel by this point. In the next verses, He tells Jeremiah to cease praying for the well-being of the people. Jeremiah tells Him of the false prophets who encourage Israel by lying to her about the terrible things that are happening – that they will soon end. The Lord promises that the false prophets will meet their own ends, but that Israel must face her own sin and repent. Then she must recognize that hope can only be found in the Lord God.

Though we look for hope in all of the things around us, true hope can only be found in God.